Top up with water?

[Billdean]

I have racked my first 6 gallons of SP into another carboy now the fermentation is complete. I need to top it up to the neck. Would y’all recommend I do it with lemon juice or water? I am making 6 gallon and have used 3 32oz bottles of lemon juice so far. I see some are putting way more juice in after fermentation but I am afraid it may not clear. I would like to let it clear on it own instead of adding any refining agents.

 

[Jovimaple]

@Billdean I would definitely use lemon juice to top it off.

For a 6 gallon batch, I start with 64 oz RealLemon (or generic), 10 lbs of sugar, and water to 5 1/2 gallons. (Plus tannin, yeast nutrient, and yeast energizer.)

When fermentation is complete, I add 4 more 32 oz bottles of lemon. I use kieselsol and chitosan but it never clears fast enough so I end up adding pectic enzyme and it's clear as a bell.

The first batch I did tasted like sugar water with a slight lemon flavor after I backsweetened, so that's how I ended up tweaking my recipe to double the amount of lemon. It's a favorite with family and friends!

Don't forget to record how many gallons when your batch is done! Post in the thread 'How many gallons of Lon D's Skeeter Pee have been made?'

Pictures are of my last batch of Skeeter Pee before bottling, and what was left in the carboy after I let it sit for a few more days to get the last bit of goodness:

 

[Billdean]

I made my batch same as you did, 64 oz RealLemon, 10 lbs of sugar, and 5 1/2 gallons of water, 2 teaspoons tannin, yeast nutrient, and yeast energizer. I added another 32 oz bottle of RealLemon about 1/4 way through Fermentation. I don't think I have room enough in my carboy for 3 more bottles of RealLemon but maybe 1 1/2. I will run to the store this afternoon and get a couple more bottles. I guess this would be my second batch. My first attempt at making SP I back sweeten yesterday and bottle it up. I put a 1/2 a bottle in the fridge and just sample it for the first time cold a few ago. It is pretty darn good but I would have to agree with you. I would like a little more lemon flavor. I am surely not complaining about my first batch, I will drink every last bit of it. This is the first wine I can say I have made that truly worked out.

Below is my 1st batch

 

[Jovimaple]

I checked my notes from my last batch earlier this year and saw I ended up with two 3 gallon carboys + 1.5 liters at first racking, after I added the additional 4 bottles of lemon. I did that on purpose to make sure I had some for topping up.

I recently opened a bottle from last year (I deliberately save one bottle per batch for one year) and it really smoothed out! I love it right away, but I am going to try to age a few more bottles of it longer.

 

[Billdean]

Does adding all the lemon juice after fermentation lower the alcohol content? If so how much do you think it does.

 

[winemaker81]

Does adding all the lemon juice after fermentation lower the alcohol content? If so how much do you think it does.

It will depend on the volumes. Let's say you have 5 gallons of SP at 12% ABV and add 1 gallon of lemon juice to it. The wine is 5/6 the new volume, so the ABV will be 12% * 5/6 = 10% ABV.

If using Joni's advice, start with at least 12% ABV and you'll be fine. Wines preserve better when the ABV is at least 10%, although the high acid of SP provides more margin.

 

[Jovimaple]

By my calculations, my last batch ended up at 13% ABV, so I figured after the additional gallon of lemon, the final ABV was about 11%. That's close enough for my purposes.

Although I don't remember HOW I did the calculation so I'm going to use Bryan's method next time! (And I'm writing it down!)

 

[Billdean]

I started 6 gallons with specific gravity of 1.065. I think that is about 9.5% alcohol. So do y’all think about 7 % after I added 48 ounces after fermentation. During fermentation I added 96 ounces. I fermented it till it was dry .988.

 

[winemaker81]

I started 6 gallons with specific gravity of 1.065. I think that is about 9.5% alcohol. So do y’all think about 7 % after I added 48 ounces after fermentation. During fermentation I added 96 ounces. I fermented it till it was dry .988.

Depending on the equation used, the ABV from an OG of 1.065 ranges from 8.5% to 9.5%. The brix/SG to ABV equation is not linear, and in fact several equations may be used -- the one chosen depends on the final ABV. If the ABV is believed to be within a certain range, one equation is used, while if the ABV is believed to be in a different range, a different equation is used. Beer is calculated using one formula, while wine may be calculated by one of three or four different formulas, depending on the ABV. If this is confusing, trust me that you are not alone in feeling so.


Figuring out the ABV after the addition of lemon juice doesn't change if the addition is water or lemon juice. Take the amount of wine, add to it the amount of non-wine (in this case lemon juice), to get the total volume. Divide the total wine by the total volume, to get the percentage of wine. Then multiply that by the ABV to get the final ABV.

In this case, you have 768 US oz (6 gallons) wine to which you add 48 oz lemon juice, a total of 816 oz. Divide 768 by 816, which produces 0.94.

Multiply 9.5% ABV by 0.94 to get a final ABV of 8.9%.

This assume that 9.5% ABV is correct, and that the 96 oz you mentioned was part of the 6 gallons.

 

[Billdean]

Wow my head is swimming now! Thank you for your calculations. I never knew you had to be a mathematician to make wine!

 

[Jovimaple]

Skeeter Pee goes quickly! It usually gets consumed long before it would go bad, even with ABV less than 10%.